


Fated

by thetidebreaks



Category: Haven - Fandom
Genre: Gen, Male-Female Friendship, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-20
Updated: 2012-12-20
Packaged: 2017-11-21 18:13:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/600689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thetidebreaks/pseuds/thetidebreaks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one 'fate' Duke will never struggle against is his seemingly endless involvement with Audrey Parker and the women who came before her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fated

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cadhla](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cadhla/gifts).



> Happy Holidays, cadhla! You asked for a fic focused on Duke and Audrey, so I give you a fic focused on Duke and Audrey. I've been thinking a lot about how Duke, at this point, is one of the few people who have had interactions with all versions of Audrey shown so far in the show (even though he doesn't quite remember his time with Lucy), and this fic grew from that. I wasn't sure if I should categorize this as character death, since Audrey's circumstances are...odd, but I put it there just in case, haha.
> 
> Specific spoilers from the episode "Sarah" contained within, as well as general spoilers from the show up to that point.

It would be easy to say it all started with Audrey, but that’s not true, really, was it?

 

There are moments in Duke’s life that he honestly starts to feel the inevitability of his situation. He’d never felt that more strongly than his brush with Sarah. The entire situation had been messed up beyond anything the town had ever done to him, and yet for all his attempts to right things, to maybe make the future a little better, all he did was insure things would happen just as planned. Hell, most days now he found himself assuming he was always meant to be the cause of the trouble that started between Sarah and his grandfather. That everything that happened since then between his family and whoever Audrey was and is now was because of him.

 

Not really something he particularly liked thinking about. Big surprise there.

 

There were moments he wondered if he ought to have felt hatred toward Sarah in that moment. He didn’t, though, no matter how much he turned those few moments over in his head. She wasn’t Audrey, but there was so much of Audrey in her. The way she tried to diffuse the situation, to end it peacefully. He had no doubt if Roy hadn’t tried to pull out that second weapon, he would’ve survived it. Instead, he had to bear witness to the death of a man he thought he’d never meet, and got to see the beginning – or maybe the continuation? – of the cycle between her and his family.

 

It was pointless. It was all so stupid and pointless.

 

‘We can’t escape our fate’. Those were the last thing Roy said to him, and there were a few moments after he had to wonder if he was right. It didn’t last long, not in the face of watching Sarah in action even more later on. There was a reason why the idea of even thinking of hurting Audrey was so crazy to him. No matter what the era, all he could see was the same kindness that he’d begrudgingly admit drew him to her in the first place.

 

And even knowing he was the grandson of the man who had just tried to kill her, she regarded him with a warm kindness he didn’t fully think he deserved. Or at least, if he were her, he certainly wouldn’t have trusted him or his family.

 

Apparently that just wasn’t how she was, though. Not this version, not any.

 

* * *

 

 

Duke still didn’t remember the day Lucy Ripley and he were together long enough for that single camera shot to be taken. It’d been such an insignificant blip in his mind until Audrey returned, something he might not have tried to give a second thought to. But then she did come back, and there’s still nights he finds himself in bed, trying to pull out a memory that refuses to materialize. Every time he comes up short, no closer to unlocking whatever is around what happened that day, no matter how much he tries to crack into it. Half the time, he honestly is left with a headache, even, as if his mind is punishing him for even attempting it.

 

If he’s honest, it’s not only for the noble cause of helping Audrey jar the much bigger memory gaps in her head. It’s a big part of it, sure, but it’s hard not to let his mind wander to questions he has himself. Knowing his history, his family’s history, it never really made sense to him that he’d be the one to end up with that necklace. It wasn’t like there weren’t other people he was sure she was closer to nearby to give it to.

 

Ever since Sarah, though, he sometimes entertained the thought that maybe she remembered him before she disappeared again. That maybe Lucy knew she was going, and wanted him to eventually help her when she inevitably came back. Sure, the thought sounded a whole lot like more ‘fate’ being thrown at him, but as that stuff went, it could be worse.

 

Still, the fact he could only guess bothered him. He honestly couldn’t imagine how Audrey dealt with what she couldn’t remember, and why he always tried to pull her out of the spiral of getting too down about it when he saw it. Whatever was going on with her, she was too good for it. Too good a person to keep having to be taken away and brought back to the start.

 

Maybe he even knew that when that picture was taken all those years ago. Maybe that was why he kept that locket despite all he’d been through, despite not really remembering the significance of it to begin with for most of his life. Who knew? He sure as hell didn’t, and he had a feeling the answers weren’t going to come out until she figured them out herself.

 

 

* * *

 

 

What he doubted even fate could see coming was just how close he would end up with her most current version of Audrey. He hadn’t even seen it coming himself, for the longest time denying the idea that maybe she was getting under his skin in a way no one else really ever has. Being reminded of what his so called ‘destiny’ called for him to do did little to stop things. Honestly, if anything, it just made him more insistent on going forward. He always did like to give the middle finger to his family’s legacy.

 

Not that that’s the only reason why he’s there when she needs him. No, it’d take more than that for him to drop everything like he did, why the idea of her disappearing again hit him so hard every time it was mentioned. It’s not something he’d ever readily admit outloud, but the idea of her not being around was something he couldn’t even fathom anymore. Her kissing him only made him understand even more how hard it was all going to be, even with how that little _moment_ ended. The closer it got, the more it practically dug under his skin. Listening to how casually it was being tossed around made it worse, irritated him enough to openly object to it.

 

After all, it was Audrey who was the one who always made him feel like he could fight everything put in front of him as what he was meant to do, right? Her just accepting what was honestly bullshit was hard to stomach. He probably should’ve known that it would all eventually come to the point where she would have no choice. He should’ve known, but it didn’t make it any less hard.

 

“There’s got to be another way,” Duke said, the hitching sound in his voice betraying just how very not calm he was. Nearby, Nathan was out cold on the ground, completely unresponsive. Whatever it was that gripped him, it was Trouble in nature, it’d been made more than clear by the single phone call they’d gotten after he collapsed.

 

It’d been made crystal clear: go into the barn, or expect him dead by the morning. He’d managed to talk her into trying to find the root cause of it all hours ago, but it’d all come up with nothing. They were running out of time and he knew it, but that still didn’t mean he wanted to throw in the towel.

 

“It has to be this way,” she replied, her tone even as she kneeled by Nathan to check on him for the umpteenth time. There was no change in him, for good or for bad, but Duke knew the people behind it would be good on their word. He hung back, hands shoved in his pockets, equal parts wanting to shake her as much as he understood why she was doing this. The kind of people they were up against – yeah, he had no doubt they’d do whatever it was they were threatening. After a moment between them, she stood up, returning to Duke’s side.

 

“Duke,” she said, his name almost a sigh, really, as she reached out to gently touch his arm. It took a lot not to pull it away, but he knew that’d be childish. Instead, he flexed his jaw, torn between wanting to try to stop her and wanting to not make this harder than it already was. As much as he wanted to believe otherwise, he knew it wasn’t an easy decision for her, either. They’d come so far, gotten through so much, how could it have

 

“I don’t want you doing this,” he settled on, a last attempt at trying to get her to stay. She just regarded him with a sad look, and it tore at his insides even more.

 

“I know,” she said, simply, before leaning in and pressing a light kiss against his cheek. It was more than enough of an answer that nothing he was ever going to say was going to change her mind. When she pulled away, she held his gaze for a few moments before saying, “Take care of him for me, will you?”

 

That drew out a short, quiet laugh and a small half-smirk followed. “Yeah, that’s not going to end well for either of us.”

 

Audrey rolled her eyes and shook her head, letting out a laugh herself. It was the kind of thing where it felt like some things never changed, but honestly, he knew the moment she was gone it’ll all be different. She didn’t linger much longer after that, turning away to take her final journey as Audrey. He couldn’t be sure, but Duke could’ve sworn he saw tears brimming under her eyes.

 

He didn’t remember the promise – or anything else, really, from that day – but he ended up keeping it anyway. In his own way, at least.

 

* * *

 

 

He ended up staying in Haven.

 

It wasn’t a conscious decision, honestly. He’d consider leaving and put it off, consider it and put it off, until eventually he just sort of accepted that it wasn’t really an option. Things between Nathan and he were…well, pretty much the same as always. They didn’t talk much, but there were a few times when he was needed and he never thought twice about helping. The Troubles vanished along with her, but that was little consolation for what the town – what _he_ lost. Even as time wore on unabated, she was always a constant in the back of his mind.

 

And he always knew there’d be a time when he’d be faced with seeing her again. Or a version of her, or whoever it was that kept coming back every handful of years. Still, when that morning came and he looked up from cleaning the bar to see a pretty young woman walking in. She had jet-black hair, pulled up in a messy ponytail, but there was no mistaking that face. He may have aged twenty-seven years, but she looked just like she had the last time he’d seen her.

 

“Hi, I was wondering if you could help me?” the girl asked, and all he could do was stare at her, the rag he’d been holding clutched in his hand. She seemed to pick up the strange look he had to have on his face, but she continued inside anyway. He hadn’t said anything to make her think she wasn’t welcome there, after all. “I’m Erin, I just got into town and I think I might be a little lost.”

 

The smile she shot him turned his stomach in knots, but when she offered her hand, he put aside the rag and took it. There was no recognition in her gaze when it caught his, not that he was expecting anything different. She hadn’t remembered a thing every time she’d come back before, why would this time be different? He cleared his throat at length, managing a weak smile back. “Duke. Yeah, uh, sure, what are you looking for?”

 

Turning her away was never even close to an option.


End file.
